The Society Ball

A Celebration of Heroes and Heroines

Saturday, April 28, 2018
Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston

Join us for a festive evening of cocktails, dinner, live and silent auctions, and dancing to the Bo Winiker Band. With musical performances by the Young Women’s Chorus, Concertmaster Aisslinn Nosky, and members of H+H’s Orchestra and Chorus.

Honoring one of our musical heroes,Deborah Borda,
President and CEO of the New York Philharmonic,
for her extraordinary contributions to the field of classical music.

Proceeds benefit the Handel and Haydn Society and its education programs, which serve 11,500 students in Greater Boston through public school performances, youth choruses, and in-school music instruction.

For more information, or to learn about
our special Young Professionals discount,
please contact Brook Holladay at
617.262.1815 or brook@handelandhaydn.org.

The Handel and Haydn Society
is proud to honor Deborah Borda
at our 2018 Society Ball!

Throughout her career, Deborah Borda has extended the artistic, commercial, and technological boundaries of the American symphony orchestra. She becomes President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Philharmonic in September 2017, having previously served as President and CEO, David C. Bohnett Presidential Chair, of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Executive Director of the New York Philharmonic, general manager of the San Francisco Symphony, president of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and manager at the Handel and Haydn Society.

At the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ms. Borda designed an acclaimed business, education, and curatorial plan, which restored the orchestra to robust artistic and fiscal health; oversaw the opening of Walt Disney Concert Hall and the addition of a new shell to the Hollywood Bowl, the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s summer home; expanded artistic programming at both venues; and spearheaded the appointment of Gustavo Dudamel as music director. Under her leadership, the Los Angeles Philharmonic has grown to maintain the largest budget of any symphonic organization in the U.S. and has become internationally recognized for its commitment to programmatic innovation through an acclaimed commissioning program, interdisciplinary productions, and more. Recognizing the social and artistic imperatives of the orchestra, Ms. Borda partnered with Mr. Dudamel to usher in an era of increased community engagement through such influential programs as YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) and the national Take a Stand initiative.

A Bennington–Royal College of Music alumnus and a former professional violist, Deborah Borda is in demand internationally as a consultant and lecturer. In 2015 she became the first arts executive to join the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership as a Hauser Leader-in-Residence. In May 2017 the Curtis Institute of Music bestowed on her an Honorary Doctor of Music degree and invited her to deliver its commencement address.